


The Meaning of Lilies

by ProphetessMinty



Series: The Dawning 2020 [6]
Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Cheeky Ghost, Day 6: Triad, Destcember 2020, Developing Relationship, F/M, Flowers, Lore Tab | Holdfast Mask, Lore Tab | Legacy's Oath Gauntlets, Male-Female Friendship, Slow Burn, The Dawning (Destiny)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-15 01:53:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28930569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProphetessMinty/pseuds/ProphetessMinty
Summary: Shiro-4 heads tower side to check-in with his friend Amanda Holliday who never replied to his email. Serendipity smiles upon him and he's unsure of what to think.
Relationships: Amanda Holliday/Shiro-4
Series: The Dawning 2020 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2076669
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	The Meaning of Lilies

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Riptor25](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Riptor25/gifts).



> Disclaimer: I do not own Destiny or any part of the franchise; all rights and ownership belong to Bungie.
> 
> A/N: A *VERY* belated Merry Dawning gift to Riptor25 and Preestopher; my fellow Amanda Holliday fans. ^__^
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> ~ProphetessMinty

**The Meaning of Lilies**

* * *

**To: A. Holliday**

**From: Shiro-4**

**Subject: Checking-In**

_Hey Grease Monkey,_

_It's been a while. Haven't heard much from you since...well...you know. How are you? Taking care of yourself? I hope. Sent Suzume over to check in on you from time to time. Said you were neck deep in projects. Don't work too hard. Focus is good, but don't get weary in well doing. Burnout is good for no one._

_You get the idea..._

_Anyhow, I haven't had the chance to visit the cairn just outside the City yet this year. Since I'm headed that way to pay my respects, would you like to meet up? This isn't out of duty or obligation—because "Cayde asked me to". I know how that used to bother you. I'd like to see you for myself. That's what friends do, right?_

_Be well my friend._

_I'll get in touch with you soon._

_Your friend,_

_Shiro-4_

* * *

"Do you think that Guardian is here?" Suzume asked casually. As she cast her query, the ghost's petite metal frame revolved about a hundred and eighty degrees. Though she was gliding backwards, her current speed was seemingly flawless. 

"What? Who? Roman?" Shiro puzzled with mild concern. 

For once, the Vanguard Scout had been distracted with pondering his unanswered email from over a week ago and barely dodged a passerby along his current route through the City. Something about the matter did not sit well with him. A thorn of concern had stabbed at him making him feel a little hollow inside. Turning slightly, he waved his apology only for it to be returned in a crude gesture. "What's their problem?" 

Dismissing them with a downward flick of the hand, the Exo cloaked in Kingly rags moved onward. "Probably not," he said after a moment. "He's likely been requested to Europa. Reports keep piling in about a new Super-user. They're calling it 'Stasis'. Seems he may or may not be dabbling with it. Unconfirmed for the moment."

"Oh," she responded, blinking slowly, before turning back around.

Shiro hummed, momentarily perplexed. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason," Suzume sighed, the sound a mix of somber trills and blips. If he was not mistaken, Shiro thought she seemed rather deflated. He observed her for a time, watching as she rotated forward, maintaining her specter's weightless sail. Suzume was quiet, appearing to be calculating something for a while. It was like she was unwilling to face him. 

A cheeky idea struck him and feeling mildly playful he ventured to ask, "Something I need to know about?" 

In response to his "unwarranted" remarks, Suzume slowly spun forty-five degrees counterclockwise with a squint in her eye. If the Exo could smirk, he would have. Her mechanical version of pursed-lips was exactly the spitfire, brazenness that he had come to love about his companion.

"Are you insinuating something?" she groused, her voice lowering with echoed feedback.

"Oh, you know, I thought Cayde was the only one for you," he teased, folding his arms over his gold-pitted vest. 

She scoffed, moderately annoyed. "Did you want me to die? Sundance would have rebooted me into the next century. And do not think for one moment your accusations went unnoted."

Shiro chuckled lightly, "Is that a threat?"

"Guardian or not, make me mad, and I will take my sweet time in rezzing you," she teased with dark humor. 

"I'm at your mercy, Suzume," Shiro laughed, holding his hands out before him. The ghost blinked twice before rotating forward with a slight bounce in her glide. 

"Hey. Suzume?" he called; his voice reserved with thoughtfulness. 

"Yes?"

Unconsciously, the Exo scratched at the back of his neck, unsure of how to voice his current thoughts. "Do you think it was okay to grab that extra flower?"

Suzume blinked out of existence in a cloud of sapphire vapor and materialized in front of his face. Squinting lightly at him, she chuckled, her voice sounding like chimes. "My how the tables have turned. Why do you ask? Something I need to know about?"

Shiro shook his head and lightly pushed her away with the palm of his hand. "Yeah, yeah." Tugging at the hood of his cowl, the Scout adjusted the way it laid on his head. "Jokes aside, I'm being serious right now."

The ghost rolled her optical lens, "Cheater. That is not how this game is played. You make me uncomfortable. I make you uncomfortable. We are all losers here." Chuckling into a sigh, the specter dematerialized, and opened a private comm channel between them. "I think it would be appropriate, all things considered. Though a flower will not alleviate the hurt, it _is_ a gesture of sympathy and respect. Why do you think they are given at funerals? Why do you care so much to bring a lily to the Six Front's memorial every year?"

The Exo scratched at his neck, his unconscious nervous habit coming into full swing. Shrugging, he said, "I don't know. I guess I don't want to forget the dead and their sacrifices. A dark part of me wants to believe that flowers symbolize the fragility of life. You know...everything eventually passes away so we should be quick to recognize this and move forward. Yet, the lighter part of me wishes for a more hopeful reason. Perhaps, the dead and the living can reunite again one day."

"Well, that—that is completely...morbid," Suzume answered, slightly baffled. "However accurate that may be to some degree, it is not the reason for such things."

"If I really wanted to be 'morbid' about this, then I would have told you what Pre-Golden Age archives tell us about flowers being given at funerals," he mumbled, quickly embarrassed. 

"Oh? And why is that, oh Enlightened one?" she mocked.

"Flowers are naturally fragrant," he muttered bluntly, "So are corpses."

"Ew!" Suzume exclaimed, rather appalled. "Wait? Do Exo's stink in death too? If so, how is that possible? They are not fleshy, meat bags like natural-born humans."

Shiro paused in his purposeful stride, thoroughly caught off guard by what he heard. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear you call humans 'meat bags'."

"While you do that, I will delete my archived logs where you accused me of being a flirt," she groused. 

The Vanguard Scout chuckled, "I never called you that, but I'll take that as your concession to my victory. Suspicions confirmed. How's your focus, Suzume?" The ghost growled just as the channel fizzled out. Shiro shook his head, realizing he would regret his words later. With a long sigh, the Exo rounded a corner and found a sparrow racing track about sixty feet away from where he stood. 

It was at the exact coordinates Zavala had given him earlier in the day when he caught him snooping around Amanda's stall in the hangar. Shiro shook his head, he had not meant to be caught. At oh-five-hundred hours, he figured he would have been alone. He had expected to find the blonde shipwright on the dock doing what she loved best. Work on machines with no one in sight while the radio was cranked to the max. However, since he had not found her, he went straight to searching for clues regarding her whereabouts. Yet, for the same reasons he had been concerned about Amanda, the Vanguard Commander had been drawn to search for her as well. Zavala stifled a knowing smile as he had decided to leave the search for the missing mechanic in his capable hands.

Breaking out of his reverie, Shiro whispered to himself, "It's now or never."

Jogging forward, Shiro came up to an old, split rail fence that had been slapped together with decaying wood. Bringing his arms up, he rested his head on his fist and watched a lonesome racer speeding down the dirt track. Their hair was the color of sunlight and it waved in furious flurries as the wind beat against the golden strands. He did not bother to wave as he just stood, simply enjoying their carefree ride. 

It reminded him of the good ol' days when he would race through the mountain paths with Andal Brask and Cayde-6. Their free-time was close to nil, but when one of the Triad had enough of the City and its monotony, they would agree to get out of dodge. True to their nature as Hunters, they would steal away for midnight rides. Daring to speed along the trails despite the dark or the enemies they might face. No matter what, they aimed to have fun, and would come back just before Dawn.

It was like a spell would come over them, lifting their spirits, as if their joy came with the morning. They were always risk-takers until Andal was murdered and Cayde took up _the_ Dare. In the blink of an eye, Shiro was left on his own. Not that he blamed them, but it sure sucked. The Exo's blue eyes flicked to the ground as he sighed. There was no point in thinking about such things. It was impossible to go back to the way things were. 

They were gone and he was not.

"Howdy, Stranger!"

Shiro looked up and found Amanda gliding his way, her sparrow drifting to idle. With her hands off the bars, the blonde placed her riding goggles on her forehead. As she did this, the blonde follicles bunched up at the front like a fashionable hair bump. A line of dirt rimmed the tops of her cheeks, causing the color of her sea-green eyes to become more prominent. He watched as she untied the red bandana from around her neck and began scrubbing at her face. 

"Fancy meetin' you here, Shiro," she smiled. "I haven't seen ya' since...I don't know when."

Unconsciously, be bid her a two-finger salute. "I told you I was coming for a visit. You read my message, right?"

"Oh, that," she chuckled nervously, before shoving the bandana in her back pocket. Standing up she quickly jumped off her sparrow and came to lean against the split rail fence. "I've been a mite busy as of late. You know with all this darkness stuff—nonsense really—goin' on. Who knew the end of the world would spell 'work' for me?" Very quickly she added, "And also...I didn't know what to say."

He sighed, "I know. Neither do I."

"Hey! Since you're here n' all, wanna get a bite to eat?" Amanda smiled charmingly. "I just got paid, we could—"

"That's alright," he said, waving her off. It would not sit well with him to have her pay for his meal. Just as a frown came on her lips, he quickly added, "My treat."

"Are you—"

"Yes, I'm sure," he nodded, his voice unexpectedly...happy? Shiro suddenly backtracked, stumbling over his thoughts and how to voice them with words. "I—uh—assuming you want to—"

"Yes," she smiled, her eyes squinting with delight. "I would love to. Just lemme wheel my sparrow around." 

"Suzume could transmat it into the Tower hangar for you," he suddenly offered. What was going on with him? Why was he suddenly blurting things? Shiro shook his head at himself, his synthesized heart suddenly taking off like a spacecraft in hyperdrive. Quickly, he scratched his neck and looked away. Was he always this hopeless around her?

"Aren't you ever the gentleman?" she laughed, positively beaming. "That would be greatly appreciated." As the blonde shipwright climbed over the fence, the private communications channel between him and his ghost turned to static. Shiro flinched, his head twitching at the squeal of audio feedback.

"Really?" Suzume asked, rather disgustedly. 

"Please?" he asked. 

Extending a helping hand to Amanda, the blonde took it, and jumped down. "Thanks."

"You owe me," Suzume teased shortly before the audio cut out. 

"Anytime," he answered, simultaneously. 

The two of them took their time heading back to the Tower as they caught up. Both sharing what they had been up to until now. Summarily, it was work that kept them collectively busy. Perhaps, it was their way of grieving or rather...that was what Shiro surmised for himself. Over the years, he learned to 'walk it off' and distance himself from the problem until it faded away. Amanda, however, he was unsure about. Guardians and civilians processed things differently. 

She seemed to be okay, but coping methods were as unique as the person. 

It was about three in the afternoon, when they reached their destination. Once inside the Tower, they hit up the bazaar in search of the Spicy Ramen shop. Amanda's stomach was already growling, and he could not hold back his laughter. Something about it was funny, but rather cute. At one point she became flustered with him and tried to push him away with none effect. Seeing her efforts were hopeless, she snubbed her nose at him and outpaced him to the shop. Though her face was turned away from him, he knew she was smiling. 

Before he could walk up to the bar, someone called after him. 

"Shiro!" Shooting an inquisitive glance over his shoulder, the Vanguard Scout found an elder woman running down a flight of steps after him. The Exo's artificial brow rose in question as he waited for none other than Eva Levante to cross the distance. "Shiro! I am so happy to see you. I have your gift with me. What marvelous timing."

"Gift?" he asked, rather perplexed.

"Yes, my dear. It's the Dawning season after all," Eva said, her voice more normal now that she was closer. Shiro looked all around, slightly alarmed that he was only just noticing the festive decorations strewn about the Tower. Rather than speaking his apparent obliviousness, he just nodded. "Don't worry, I know you're busy and I won't hold you up."

Eva quickly handed over two navy blue pouches embroidered with snowflakes. "Here's one for you and Amanda."

"Excuse me?" he asked, his eyes suddenly shooting over to the place where Amanda sat at the bar. Part of him was thankful she had her nose shoved in the menu and had not noticed their conversation. However, that thankfulness quickly faded away as she looked over her shoulder. Had he been a human, Shiro would have blushed on the spot.

Eva laughed lightly, her brown eyes glittering with delight. Leaning forward, she whispered low enough for just the two of them to hear. "You can't fool, old Eva, my dear. I know what I saw."

Leaning in, Shiro asked skeptically, "What did you see?" 

Eva laughed and tapped her nose before walking away. "Merry Dawning!"

“Shiro!” Amanda called. “Wuddya like to eat?” The Exo shook his head, clearing his mind of Eva’s mothering schemes, and walked over to the bar. Taking up a seat to the left of Amanda, he grabbed a menu and began perusing its contents. “I think I’m gonna get the beef bowl with a side of steamed BBQ buns.”

“And what to drink?” he asked, still scanning the page.

She hummed thoughtfully, “I wouldn’t mind a bit of root beer.”

“Sounds good,” he said, before waving down the chef. Shiro quickly placed their order and went to drumming his fingers on the counter as they waited.

“Sooo…,” Amanda coaxed. “What was that about?”

Shiro placed the bags of goodies on the counter as his reply.

“Ooo, dawgy!” She exclaimed excitedly. “Eva sure knows my favorite. Chocolate Ship Cookies. How about you?”

Shiro shrugged casually, unsure of what Eva would have made _him_ above all people. Grabbing his bag, he opened it up and inspected the contents inside. There were several small, hand-sized latticed pies with a dark pink filling. “Looks like raspberry pie.”

“Bless her heart!” Amanda sighed happily. “She sure knows how to make people feel special.”

The Exo nodded his agreement and tied off the bag. Pushing it off to the side, he steepled his hands together suddenly nervous. As he thought over Eva’s gift, it reminded him of his own. The flower meant for Amanda. Privately, he asked for Suzume to materialize the extra lily he had purchased. Her only acknowledgement was a quick electronic chirp.

“Speaking of gifts,” Shiro said after a moment, “I got you something. It’s not much, but it’s something.”

Amanda, who had been staring off into space, looked toward the Exo. Suddenly, her shapely brow arched upward with wonder and she smiled. “Me?”

Shiro chuckled and opened the palm of his hand where a fresh, red lily materialized. “Normally, I would have grabbed a white lily and I did. However, it was the last one in stock; and that one I had already intended for the cairn. It just seemed right. Anyhow, grabbed you a red lily instead. I hope that’s okay.”

The Shipwright accepted the flower happily and brought it to her nose. She smiled, positively beaming. “Wow, thank you. No one’s ever brought me a flower before.”

“No one?” he asked baffled. “I thought Cayde would have—”

“Nah! Even though we were seeing each other, that was never his deal,” she chuckled softly. “He was more of a quality-time kind of guy anyhow. It meant more to him than a gift.”

Shiro shook his head in both understanding and disagreement. Before much more could be said, the chef brought their food and placed it on the bar in front of them. The duo wasted no time digging in and it was when they both took a bite that a small petite ghost appeared between them. Shiro regarded his companion with skepticism as he watched her turn to face Amanda. Gliding up ever so casually toward the blonde, Suzume gave her a quick once over.

“Do you know what the meaning of lilies are?” the ghost asked, bobbing in the air.

“I beg yer’ pardon?” Amanda questioned around a bite of food. 

Of course, his ghost had not let him off easily. Suzume revolved in place, having made up her mind to get even, and squinted at Shiro. “The symbology behind the meaning of a lily is as quite intriguing as it has different variants. White. Yellow. Orange. Pink. Red.” As she said the last color, Suzume turned a hundred and eighty degrees to make eye contact with Amanda. “White lilies are for purity. Yellow lilies are for friendship. Orange lilies are for confidence. Pink lilies are for admiration. Red lilies are for…romantic passion.”

Just as Suzume blinked out of sight, Shiro began to choke on his food. Was this possible? Was any of this truly happening? Though he wanted to lie to himself, there was no way around it. Slamming his hand on his chassis several times, the Exo worked to regain his composure. As he did this, Amanda guffawed with deep laughter. Chancing a glance, Shiro’s blue eyes found Amanda’s green ones. Her face was just about as red as her gifted lily.

“I…,” Shiro began, but was unable to finish his sentence. He was highly embarrassed, and he should have known Suzume would have pulled something like this. Yet here he was practically speechless.

While he fought with himself to find some modicum of intelligence and way to explain the situation, a hand grabbed his shoulder. Inspecting Amanda’s long slender fingers, his eyes trailed up her arm and toward the sweet expression hooked to her countenance. Though Shiro was unsure of what she had wanted at first, that suddenly changed as the blonde bombshell leaned forward. With her face now dangerously close to his, it was as if time slowed down. His heart began to race, palpitating wildly like when they were at the sparrow racing track.

Just as her eyes fluttered shut, Amanda kissed Shiro’s artificial cheek without warning. Giggling, she said, “Thank you, really.”

Shiro nodded, quickly touching his cheek with astonishment. He had never experienced such pleasant serendipity in all his resurrected years. While they wordlessly went back to eating their meals, the Vanguard Scout could not help but revisit that special moment in his mind’s eye. Something about it felt promising and whatever _it_ was, he felt like singing for the first time in a very long time.


End file.
